Monarch of the tree
Gideon has been sleeping at night better, but not taking good naps. Alison needs to figure out a different time to exercise if he's going to only sleep for 20 minutes at a time during the day.
Timmy got a robot car from the DI and is very happy about it. He has not been very obedient this week, although usually when we stand up to implement consequences he suddenly obeys, while wailing. But still sometimes not, and then he goes to bed and screams.
Sara has been incredibly helpful and obedient this week. Apparently there's a balance, because she's just leaving a year of a not-very-helpful phase, and now Timmy's starting. But now we have two very helpful kids to run errands and clean up, which is amazing.
Rea is growing up. She really enjoys being with friends and is figuring out social things. She is very responsible. She also has amazing biking skills.
It rained a ridiculous amount this week. In about 10 years in Utah, we've never seen rain like this. It's great, but unfortunately we've never invested in expensive rain gear for the kids (it's usually unnecessary), so the kids haven't been out to enjoy it much.
We tried to go to the park on Monday for a picnic. Not only did we get wet on the bikes, but Alison still doesn't have the hang of the bike motor and the chain fell off the gears six times, requiring stops and work to reattach it. Mike can ride the bike, using the motor, for miles without it falling off, so Alison will be able to do it too with practice. But that didn't make Monday any more fun. Sara was very encouraging, cheering "You can do it, Mommy!" and praying for her when the chain fell off again. It helped a lot. The picnic in the rain was not much fun and we only stayed for half an hour. On the way home, we stopped and picked up Marisa and Faith Dalyai, and Sara ran the whole way home and kept up with Marisa and Rea on their bikes. Very impressive! The day was saved for the kids by playing with the Dalyais.
On Tuesday, the rain seemed to be letting up, so Alison took the kids to playgroup in the bucket bike. Of course it started pouring on the way. Poor kids. They were very brave, though. And the chain didn't fall off! After playgroup they went to the library for story time and books. Alison has been reading to the kids for hours a day since we're inside from the rain. That evening Mike went to the Board Game Design group and presented Terran League of Defense Robots. The rules seem to be pretty solid, but they need to be explained better. It's a complicated game and needs a lot of hand-holding for first time players. Mike has one month to get it ready for the contest he's entering. Alison and the kids watched a My Little Ponies movie from the library while he was gone.
Wednesday for Montessori time we pulled out the microscope and looked at sand under it. That was very cool; the grains look like jewels. We talked about crystals and minerals and things. That night was Timmy's date night; they watched a My Little Ponies episode and went to the store to get ingredients for a milkshake.
Due to the rain, Vivian is thinking that she'd like to buy a car, so Thursday Mike helped her look online and send emails to some possibilities.
Friday we walked to the Church to orient the new Primary Music Leader. When we got done, it was snowing, so we walked home in the snow. It was an adventure. Mike and Alison watched a recording of "HMS Pinafore" for their date. They thought that it would be boring enough to drive the kids off, but that failed. The kids all piled into the hammock with us until the Team Clean alarm went off and we sent them to bed. We finished the movie by ourselves, but it wasn't our favorite Gilbert and Sullivan. The jury's still out as to whether it was the play or the acting that made it less favored.
After that, Timmy has been performing "boring shows" for us all weekend, on the theory that "grown-ups like boring things." I guess we use that excuse a lot when we're doing something without the kids.
Saturday was busy. We played with the kids and made a paneer with stored-up milk first thing in the morning, until stores opened. Then we took Vivian to look at a car and drop it off at a mechanic for an inspection, then to six different stores. She wanted a heavy coat and long-sleeved T shirts, which they do not sell in Utah in the spring, even if it has been raining. Then we had to pick up the car when the mechanic told us that it was no good and take it back to the dealer. That was pretty much the day.
Sheila sent the illustrations for Brave Lala. They are fabulous! Mike decided he'd better polish the prose to match, so he and Alison stayed up late trying to come up with rhyming text for the story. It's a fun project. So far they have a first draft of every page, but it still needs a lot of work.
Sunday Alison spent hours on Primary stuff. She's hoping things calm down soon.
Timmy got a robot car from the DI and is very happy about it. He has not been very obedient this week, although usually when we stand up to implement consequences he suddenly obeys, while wailing. But still sometimes not, and then he goes to bed and screams.
Sara has been incredibly helpful and obedient this week. Apparently there's a balance, because she's just leaving a year of a not-very-helpful phase, and now Timmy's starting. But now we have two very helpful kids to run errands and clean up, which is amazing.
Rea is growing up. She really enjoys being with friends and is figuring out social things. She is very responsible. She also has amazing biking skills.
It rained a ridiculous amount this week. In about 10 years in Utah, we've never seen rain like this. It's great, but unfortunately we've never invested in expensive rain gear for the kids (it's usually unnecessary), so the kids haven't been out to enjoy it much.
We tried to go to the park on Monday for a picnic. Not only did we get wet on the bikes, but Alison still doesn't have the hang of the bike motor and the chain fell off the gears six times, requiring stops and work to reattach it. Mike can ride the bike, using the motor, for miles without it falling off, so Alison will be able to do it too with practice. But that didn't make Monday any more fun. Sara was very encouraging, cheering "You can do it, Mommy!" and praying for her when the chain fell off again. It helped a lot. The picnic in the rain was not much fun and we only stayed for half an hour. On the way home, we stopped and picked up Marisa and Faith Dalyai, and Sara ran the whole way home and kept up with Marisa and Rea on their bikes. Very impressive! The day was saved for the kids by playing with the Dalyais.
On Tuesday, the rain seemed to be letting up, so Alison took the kids to playgroup in the bucket bike. Of course it started pouring on the way. Poor kids. They were very brave, though. And the chain didn't fall off! After playgroup they went to the library for story time and books. Alison has been reading to the kids for hours a day since we're inside from the rain. That evening Mike went to the Board Game Design group and presented Terran League of Defense Robots. The rules seem to be pretty solid, but they need to be explained better. It's a complicated game and needs a lot of hand-holding for first time players. Mike has one month to get it ready for the contest he's entering. Alison and the kids watched a My Little Ponies movie from the library while he was gone.
Wednesday for Montessori time we pulled out the microscope and looked at sand under it. That was very cool; the grains look like jewels. We talked about crystals and minerals and things. That night was Timmy's date night; they watched a My Little Ponies episode and went to the store to get ingredients for a milkshake.
Due to the rain, Vivian is thinking that she'd like to buy a car, so Thursday Mike helped her look online and send emails to some possibilities.
Friday we walked to the Church to orient the new Primary Music Leader. When we got done, it was snowing, so we walked home in the snow. It was an adventure. Mike and Alison watched a recording of "HMS Pinafore" for their date. They thought that it would be boring enough to drive the kids off, but that failed. The kids all piled into the hammock with us until the Team Clean alarm went off and we sent them to bed. We finished the movie by ourselves, but it wasn't our favorite Gilbert and Sullivan. The jury's still out as to whether it was the play or the acting that made it less favored.
After that, Timmy has been performing "boring shows" for us all weekend, on the theory that "grown-ups like boring things." I guess we use that excuse a lot when we're doing something without the kids.
Saturday was busy. We played with the kids and made a paneer with stored-up milk first thing in the morning, until stores opened. Then we took Vivian to look at a car and drop it off at a mechanic for an inspection, then to six different stores. She wanted a heavy coat and long-sleeved T shirts, which they do not sell in Utah in the spring, even if it has been raining. Then we had to pick up the car when the mechanic told us that it was no good and take it back to the dealer. That was pretty much the day.
Sheila sent the illustrations for Brave Lala. They are fabulous! Mike decided he'd better polish the prose to match, so he and Alison stayed up late trying to come up with rhyming text for the story. It's a fun project. So far they have a first draft of every page, but it still needs a lot of work.
Clarabel and the chickens too
showered her with praise.
She rested on her laurels
for many, many days.
Lala is a big strong goat
the bravest goat of all.
She likes to fight to help her friends
or sometimes just to brawl.
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